Need to Pray!

Hello All,
We need to pray.  There is a shooting going on right now at Westgate Mall in Nairobi.  They say gunmen stormed the mall and are now inside surrounded by police outside. The gunmen most likely have hostages.  There is at least one RVA family there now pinned down but separated.  I was there on Thursday to shop for the senior store that we put on today.  Please pray for them to be caught and no more loss of life!

The RVA Art Center Project:  Here is the fix!

Remember  last week when I told you we had some cube tests that failed on the Art Center project?  Here is the fix. We basically add another layer to the base while supporting it with rebar and digging into the column.  It will help support the column and distribute the weight.  Things are going well with this project.  We are behind but hopeful that we will continue to move forward.

The BKCC Wing:  Well, they had "the big meeting" on Thursday and all seemed to go well.  The contractor and consultants were able to come to an agreement so that we will let the contractor continue on the project.  This is a huge relief.  I sure hope the contractor will step up to the plate and get the building done!

We are continuing to help our friends with education funds. This is Agnes (the tall one) in the picture.  She is living with Njoki (the shorter lady) having come from a bad situation.  She is able to go to the local school and has a loving home to go to.  She is so grateful to all who have helped. 

Agnes and Njoki

We hosted a Caring Community group last week end.  It is an opportunity to have some students in your home about once a month.  We love it because we get a chance to know them a bit better.  We ate pizza and played the Wii.  This is a group of 7th graders who are MUCH different than Trevor's class!  The seniors just wanted "food and to hang out."  This is a direct quote.  I can do that.  These 7th graders like to move.  They are going to tire us out even more - but it is worth it!

The school had an open house on Friday where the parents were able to come to class and see what the kids do.  It was a very busy day for me with 3 kids in 3 different areas but it was great.  I actually got to my office for a total of about 1 hour and got a bit of work done!  

Timothy and Michael

Sallie making a geocube

Timothy presenting data with his group in Math class

Today was the first of our Senior Stores for first term.  We will have 2 more before Thanksgiving and 3 in 2nd term. That will finish us out and hopefully we will have enough money to go on our Senior Safari.  That is a 5-6 night stay at one of the resorts on the coast where we swim and just laze around for a week!  I am looking forward to that even with 72 Seniors!

Do you see the monkey?  He is there:

This is the loquat tree in the front yard.  They are really good especially in jelly.  My neighbor spent 2 hours peeling loquats last Sunday for 6 jars of the stuff.  It was worth it for her, but I just couldn't get there from here.  The kids like them but so do the monkeys:

They are all over it in the mornings.  It is fun to watch them scatter.

This last picture is of another girl that we are funding for school.  Her name is Beth.  She is coming from a motherless home where she has a father and 2 brothers.  She is in a boarding school for girls (very common to send your high schooler to boarding school).  This is a great situation for her.  She will be a Junior in January.  We are hoping she will graduate and do well.

I am officially exhausted.  Starting a bit of a cold and just need to rest after senior store.  One more errand to do related to that but after that I am officially on strike!  

Please continue to pray for the people at Westgate mall.

In His Hands,

Jullie T.